Key lines: Trump’s ‘not playing games,’ he says in interview laying out 100-day agenda
Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, CNN
(CNN) — Donald Trump has made bold claims about his plans for when he takes office next month, from drastic action at the border to ending birthright citizenship and pardoning January 6 insurrectionists.
When he sat down for his first postelection interview with a mainstream journalist, Kristen Welker of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he promised he would not encourage his Justice Department to go after his political enemies but added that he thinks some of them belong in jail.
How those promises and desires will translate into action remains unclear, so it’s worth paying attention to what Trump said in that lengthy sit-down, which aired Sunday. Here are key lines from NBC’s interview, along with some context:
What will Trump accomplish in his first 100 days?
So expect something related to immigration to get everyone’s attention.
In the first week of his first administration in 2017, for instance, Trump used executive authority to act on his campaign promise to ban all Muslims from traveling to the US by imposing a ban on travel from predominantly Muslim countries and also put a hold on all refugees entering the US for four months.
Those moves, which made a statement, sparked protests at airports and a standoff between Trump and lawyers at the Department of Justice.
Trump has talked previously about mobilizing the military to do more at the border and about effectively shutting the border with Mexico.
In the NBC interview, he also talked about extending tax cuts and working with Democratic mayors to address crime in cities in his first 100 days.
Do sexual misconduct and excessive drinking allegations related to Pete Hegseth — his pick for defense secretary, who told senators he would go dry — worry Trump?
While there have been reports that Trump has considered alternatives to Hegseth, he has maintained public support for the former Fox News host.
There have been multiple reports about Hegseth’s drinking, including that it led him to be forced out of the leadership of veterans’ advocacy groups. He also has dealt with revelations about a settlement he reached with a woman who alleged Hegseth sexually assaulted her.
Can Trump guarantee tariffs won’t raise prices for American consumers?
Tariffs are taxes on foreign imports paid by importers in the US. Economists generally believe tariffs raise prices for consumers, but Trump doesn’t believe it. He has promised a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico, something he may be able to accomplish without Congress.
In the NBC interview, he pointed to tariffs he imposed, particularly on China, during his first term and kept in place by the Biden administration as evidence. Trump argued the US is “subsidizing” Canada to the tune of $100 billion per year and Mexico to the tune of $300 billion per year.
Trump recently made a joke about annexing Canada during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Presumably he was riffing on that joke here rather than offering a serious idea.
After a recent phone call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump said they had agreed to “effectively” close the border, although she later disputed that claim.
It’s not entirely clear what Trump meant by arguing in the NBC interview that the US is subsidizing Canada and Mexico. It could be a reference to trade deficits between the US and those trading partners. But the trade deficit with Canada was about $54 billion in 2022 and about $131 billion with Mexico that year.
The “madman theory” of foreign policy is that other countries stay in check because they think a powerful world leader is crazy and unpredictable, something Trump has embraced. Before November’s election, for example, Trump told The Wall Street Journal he would never have to use the military to protect Taiwan from China because China’s president knows he’s “f**king crazy.”
Trump also argued in the NBC interview that tariffs during his first term saved “tens of thousands” of manufacturing jobs at Whirlpool in Ohio, a debatable claim since the US International Trade Commission found that the tariffs led to an uptick of about 1,800 US jobs, at a cost to consumers of about $815,000 per job. Trump said “the market” will keep companies from raising prices as a result of his tariffs.
Trump argued both that tariffs will raise money and that they will be an effective diplomatic tool. The math is hard to envision, since by one estimate, Trump’s proposed tax cuts would far outstrip revenue raised by tariffs and his policies would add $7.75 trillion to the national debt over 10 years.
Welker asked Trump directly whether tariffs are something he’ll really do or whether they’re a negotiating tactic. His 416-word response did not answer the question directly, but he did argue that his election has already dried up border crossings to a “trickle.”
Trump wanted credit for Mexican authorities breaking up several “caravans” of migrants. Border crossings had already dropped precipitously after executive action by the Biden administration.
Would Trump consider raising the minimum wage?
The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009. Trump doesn’t sound likely to push for an across-the-board hike now.
Some states have minimum wages over $15, while others have stayed at the federal minimum. In Alaska and Missouri, two states that backed Trump, voters also acted in November to raise the minimum wage. Trump has focused his outreach to wage earners on policy proposals such as exempting tips from taxes.
Is it realistic to deport every single one of the millions of people in the US illegally?
How Trump might go about mass deportation and whether he would focus on people who have not violated criminal laws has been the subject of much reporting. Read more about his immigration plans.
Does that include ‘Dreamers,’ who were brought to the US as children?
Trump ultimately said he wants Dreamers to be able to stay in the US and suggested “doing something” about Dreamers could involve a bipartisan deal with Democrats.
But in mixed-immigration-status families, where children are citizens and their parents are not, Trump would focus on deporting the whole family
Trump acknowledged these deportations are going to be hard to watch
On separating families, he said they will have a choice
How will Trump end birthright citizenship?
Trump said he would try to end birthright citizenship with executive action, but he acknowledged it could take more because, according to the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, every person born in the US is a citizen.
Amending the Constitution is a long and complicated process. There hasn’t been an amendment enacted in more than three decades. It will be interesting to see how Trump justifies trying to end birthright citizenship with the stroke of a pen.
Also, the US is definitely not the only country with birthright citizenship. Read this fact check.
Trump still has only ‘concepts’ of a health care plan, but it’s hard to explain
Sign-ups for Obamacare plans fell during Trump’s first term even as the law became more popular. Read more about what Trump did with the Affordable Care Act.
Will he follow up on making insurance companies pay for in vitro fertilization?
Trump promised not to push for investigations of his political opponents
Trump said he does not expect his pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, to necessarily investigate his political enemies. He seemed surprised when Welker read back to him a 2023 Truth Social post in which he said he would appoint a special prosecutor to look into President Joe Biden. But does he want his political enemies investigated?
Will he go after Biden?
Trump said he won the election for two reasons, neither of which is political retribution
While he won’t push his attorney general pick, Pam Bondi, to investigate his enemies, he’s not shutting it down, either
A few moments later, however Trump undercut this message when he argued that former Rep. Liz Cheney and other people on the House committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, insurrection committed a “major crime.” More on that further below.
Trump would not definitely say he’ll fire FBI Director Christopher Wray
That was a reference to search warrants served on Trump’s Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, and his club in New Jersey related to Trump’s refusal to turn over classified documents to the National Archives.
But since Trump has picked Patel for the job, he admitted that means Wray – whose name he would not say — would have to leave:
Trump didn’t read Project 2025 so that he could deny connection to it
While he is hiring many people connected to the blueprint for a Republican administration and he agrees with much of it, Trump doesn’t want to be associated with it.
He’s not thinking about a pardon from Biden
While Trump said he thinks a president can pardon himself, he doesn’t think he needs one since the federal cases against him have been dropped. And on whether Biden should pardon him as a way to bring the country together, Trump doesn’t see it happening.
He thinks Cheney and members of the January 6 committee should be in jail
But Trump said he won’t instruct either his attorney general or his FBI director to go after committee members.
Trump wants to focus on opening up more land for oil exploration, but he clearly maintains serious animus toward the people who investigated the insurrection. Trump alleged they destroyed evidence related to the investigation, but committee members, who issued an 800-page report along with transcripts of their interviews, have said that is not correct.
In response to Trump’s argument that January 6 committee members should be jailed, Cheney said it would be inappropriate for the Department of Justice to investigate a congressional committee.
He’s serious about pardoning January 6 rioters on his first day in office
He may pardon people who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers at the Capitol
Trump is open to eliminating some vaccines for children, and he’s open to the disproven idea that vaccines cause autism
Trump said he’s already held a long meeting with his pick for Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and drug companies about a range of topics, including vaccines and pesticides.
But Trump said RFK Jr. will not pursue radical change
Welker pushed Trump by noting decades of studies have shown no link between autism and vaccines, and he brought up another disproven theory, that chlorine in the water causes autism.
Trump said he wants to see more evidence about vaccines.
Trump promised not to give Elon Musk’s companies special favors
Trump pledged not to cut Social Security or Medicare other than to make them more efficient
Ukraine should expect less help from the US and instead look to Europe, Trump said
Trump said he’s actively trying to negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine
But he would not say whether he’s been talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will work with Trump on ending the war.
Trump takes no responsibility for the divided country
Welker asked Trump whether, to unite the US and turn the page, he would admit he lost the 2020 election. He would not.
Trump was also asked why, if Democrats controlled the White House, he was able to win the election. He alleged many times that Democrats wanted to steal the election.
He told his adult children not to come into his second administration
Trump said both his wife and children are treated unfairly by the press. He did not have a ready answer when Welker asked what role his wife, Melania, would play in her second four years as first lady, but he quickly pivoted to an attack on the press.
Trump will give every American the MAGA treatment
Welker asked for his message to the people who didn’t vote for him.
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